


don we now our gay apparel

by Isa1187



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Christmas Sweaters, Fluff, Gen, Nagamas 2018, vaguely shippy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-01 20:23:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17250794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isa1187/pseuds/Isa1187
Summary: Ike, Soren, and Ranulf discover ugly Christmas sweaters.





	don we now our gay apparel

The pile of sweaters had clearly been designed by someone who had taken a long apprenticeship in tastefulness, subtlety, and elegance, all for the sake of understanding how to remove every trace of them from their creations.

Anna shoved one into Soren’s hands, muttering something about _sure to make piles of gold_ , apparently oblivious to his instant hatred of the entire concept of Christmas sweaters.

He held it up. Even by the generous standards of the pile of sweaters, this was a particularly horrible specimen. The sweater was an absurd shade of poisonous red. The fluffy fabric was covered in whimsical felt cutouts of winter-themed animals, white foxes with beady eyes and reindeer with shining pink noses that stood out even against the blood-red backdrop. Stars made of shimmering gold thread and snowflakes formed from clumps of poorly-attached glitter overlapped with each other in a chaotically glimmering mess.

With growing horror he poked one slender finger at the pom-poms and bells running down the sleeves of the sweater. Gingerly, almost afraid to confirm this final atrocity, Soren gave the sweater an experimental shake.

It _jingled_.

Soren’s life had been filled with misery. And yet, among his memories of the yells of angry villagers and the screams of war and the roars of dragons, the jingle of the Christmas sweater ranked as one of the most despicable sounds he had ever had the displeasure of hearing.

The laughter of one of his companions broke through Soren’s horror.

“I wish you could see your own expression,” Ranulf crowed, leaning over Soren’s shoulder to get a better look at the wool abomination. He poked at a bell curiously, with a distinct lack of revulsion. “These look fun. What do you have against a bit of holiday fun?”

Soren turned his baleful glare towards Ranulf and snatched a pair of fuzzy, light-festooned antlers from the pile. “There’s plenty of ‘fun’ to go around if you’re so enamored by it,” he said, reaching up to slip the antlers over Ranulf’s headband. Soren dumped the sweater into Ranulf’s arms for good measure.

Ike sighed next to him, resting a casual hand on Soren’s shoulder as he also stared at the pile of Christmas outfits. “I don’t see the big deal,” he said, half to Soren and half to Anna. “It’s just a bunch of brightly-colored fabric.”

“Then you won’t mind wearing them!” Anna shoved sweaters and hats at Soren and Ike. “Your friend’s got the right idea,” she said, gesturing cheerfully at Ranulf, who was already wearing the ugliest sweater in existence and reaching up to straighten his now-crooked fuzzy antlers.

Soren tried to deepen his scowl, found that it was already at maximum intensity, and settled for a disparaging sigh.

Ranulf just grinned blindingly in response and shrugged, the bells on his sweater jingling. “I like it,” he said, admiring the glitter that was already starting to shed.

Ike chuckled. Much as Soren enjoyed the sound, he suspected it meant that he was losing the Christmas sweater battle.

“Where’s the harm in it, Soren?” he asked, already starting to unstrap his ever-present cloak and pauldron. “It’s nice to wear something that isn’t designed for fighting occasionally.”

The end of the sentence was muffled as he pulled his own sweater over his head. He straightened the hem with a tiny, pleased smile that few people would have noticed. This sweater showed a bright green tree festooned with flickering lights, the colors clashing brilliantly with his blue hair.

Ranulf’s laughter was delighted. “You’re the only one not matching,” he said, picking up the third Christmas sweater and reaching to drag it over Soren’s head.

“Wait,” Soren said, recalling something about _piles of gold_. “You intend to make money from this?” he asked Anna.

Her smile flickered momentarily. “Just enough to supply the army,” she said, smile firmly back in place.

“Ah. Well, I’m afraid we aren’t part of your army,” Soren said. “And I don’t recall giving you any permission to distribute our images.”

“Wait just a minute. You’re staying in our camp--”

“Accommodations offered to us free of charge in recognition of our service to Tellius,” Soren interrupted. He kept his eyes locked with Anna’s, but he could practically feel Ranulf’s smirk and Ike’s suppressed grin. “Unless you’d like me to tell your prince and princess that you’re blackmailing their guests.”

Anna’s smile faltered. “That won’t be necessary, of course.” She sighed and left the tent, already muttering to herself about some plan to hand out Santa outfits.

Ike’s laughter finally bubbled over as her footsteps faded, and Soren let Ranulf wrestle him into the third sweater. Soren looked down, not quite in approval, but in much less resentment than he expected. The snowman on his sweater was tacky, but decorated in solid colors rather than lights and glitter. Ike gently slipped a matching hat over his ears, completing the look.

He eyed his companions as they stepped out into the snow, keeping close together for both warmth and comfort. “I suppose we could make a few of our own piles of gold from this. Posters of the Radiant Hero in a light-up sweater would sell like hotcakes.”

Ike grimaced. “We don’t need the cash that badly,” he said. “Anyway, we’re traveling light.”

“You just want to annoy Anna,” Ranulf said as they arrived at their borrowed cabin.

Soren just shrugged noncommittally, for once letting his worries about money and supplies wait for another day. He stepped inside, and let the light of the fire and the comfort of his companions warm him to the bone.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Nagamas 2018 for almagaramond.
> 
> This was a delight to write. Apparently I love writing from Soren's point of view and should probably do more of that in the future. 
> 
> I'd like to thank Fire Emblem Heroes for making it twelve times easier to find a justification for putting these guys in Christmas sweaters.


End file.
